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Saturday, November 30, 2013

POST HOLIDAY GATHEREING

Gil
looked up from the place Ms. Elly set in front of him.A large acorn squash dominated the
plate.To the left a heaping of mashed
potatoes oozing with whipped butter and shredded cheese.On the remaining third of the plate, a large
serving of mixed nut salad topped with almond and sesame seed dressing lay on
top of a bed of mixed greens.His side
plate held portions of spinach soufflé and green bean casserole.

“Gil that
butter didn’t need a flogger to get that way,” Ms. Elly teased, turning back to
the cart behind her.Uproarious laughter
broke out.Gil glanced down the table to
where Blackie sat with her lemon and dill salmon.Tongson came through again.After making sure Tomas got home in one
piece, the fish arrived days later with a hand written note and receipt bearing
the name of the boat the purchase came from.No shape shifters met their demise.

Laughter
died down as Ms. Elly moved down the table serving others from the cart laden
with their plates.The buffet covered
the bar and several tables close by.Rattigan’s
remained closed by his and Louie’s decry.Those who didn’t have a family or opted to stay away from the yearly
generational gatherings that might not end up as merrily as some would like
chose to come together with Rattigan’s staff and owner to celebrate.

Center
of pushed together tables, giant vases filled with colored leaves made up the
center piece.Thanks to the Turkles,
pies sat cooling in the kitchen.An
emergency meeting of the town council brought the Turkle homestead within the
Peak’s limits.Abram cussed and
questioned why for the first forty-eight hours.After the quietest night’s sleep he’d had in decades, the noise
stopped.Peak law didn’t stand for its
citizens ripping each other apart to the point of death.Fist fights and bloody noses were
tolerated.Otherwise Nick and Bo would
be doing more community service than there was available for them to do.

Ms.
Elly reached the end of the tables, leaned down and kissed her husband.Gil smiled.Those two knew how to love and live.Nick’s father was an asset to the council.The old man knew along with Rachel where the
bodies were hid. Rachel who should be back by now wasn’t.Her family said something about a letter she
left stating she might be away longer than expected.Gil hoped his assistant came back soon.He missed arguing with her and her skills that
got an amazing amount of work done.Rachel earned her vacation.She
had plenty of time on the books.

At the
opposite end of the table, Louie rose.He hefted his glass aloft, filled with Rattigan’s own Pale Silver
Ale.Glasses up and down the table held
each diners preferred beverage.Other
glasses rose as Louie spoke.“Here’s to
another year of good cheer, togetherness, surviving, and good friends as well
as family.”

“Here,
here,” rang out through the room.A
throat cleared.Nick’s father rose.He smiled as he turned meting everyone’s
gaze.“Today I eat with friends and
colleagues.I eat greens and
veggies.Ain’t so bad tasting a bit of
how the other side lives, eh darling?”

Gil
burst out laughing with the others.Ms.
Elly blushed, cuffed her husband’s arm as he licked his lips.Others chimed in with their thanks and
toasts.Silence fell as Gil rose.His turn and words failed him.Or did they?He opened his mouth, chirped six times.“Now let me translate.Good
friends.Chosen family.Good eats.”

Ms.
Elly rose as quiet resumed.“All
right.Let’s get to the consuming.There’s plenty for everyone.Besides Nick and Bo have dish duty to cross
off their civic chore list.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Happy Weekend Gang!

Sorry for the late post. I've been away from the computer. We had a lovely Thanksgiving here at the Spice Homestead. Looks like our group on the Peak are enjoying gathering together too.

Cold weather tore a path across the country this week. May you find warmth and blessings this holiday season. May your gifts be for what you need and allow you to pay things forward for your good fortune.

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